A Todd Monken Hiring Could Mean Bucs Pursuit Of Baker Mayfield
January 19th, 2023
Baker Mayfield in focus.
Playcaller Byron Leftwich was fired and a new NFL Network report puts former Bucs offensive coordinator/receivers coach Todd Monken in the mix to replace him.
Based on two sets of facts, this could be a nod toward Baker Mayfield becoming the next Tampa Bay quarterback.
First, please be clear. Joe wants Tom Brady to return for his fourth Tampa Bay season. He remains a valuable on-field commodity and with a new coordinator and a decent running game, Brady can still win a Super Bowl.
However, if Brady moves on, then watch out for Mayfield, the 27-year-old free agent quarterback who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Bucco Bruce Arians himself was eager to coach Mayfield, per his own words. In November of 2018, Arians told CBS Sports Radio that the only job that would lure him out of retirement was the Cleveland gig. He liked Mayfield and was getting itch to return to coaching after retiring following the 2017 season.
Joe talked to Arians about Mayfield years ago, and Joe believes Arians was sincere in his evaluation of Mayfield, who was solid this season in a tough situation as a last-minute hire by the Rams.
Then there’s Monken, who coached Mayfield in Cleveland for one season in 2019. The Browns hired him for their offensive staff under the one-and-done Freddie Kitchens administration.
Monken spoke openly late in the 2019 season about Mayfield being the right quarterback for the team and on the right track.
A year later with a new head coach, Mayfield had a good year and the Browns won a playoff game.
Joe suspects Mayfield won’t be super expensive on the free agent market. And yes, Joe knows many fans would moan about a Mayfield signing. Joe strongly suspects Mayfield is better than Kyle Trask, Blaine Gabbert and Jameis Winston.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:45 am
Hmmmm I dont know about Baker as our QB hmmmm
January 19th, 2023 at 11:46 am
I just worry because Mayfield came out hot in both Cleveland and LA and then got on the roller coaster. Maybe a second fresh start does the trick?
January 19th, 2023 at 11:47 am
Hey Joe is Todd Monken any good as a OC? Would you like this move?
January 19th, 2023 at 11:48 am
God I hope not. This guy has shown no propensity to be a winner. I’d rather have Jameis back.
Mayfield is now going to be joining Wentz as a solid back up QB, perhaps he may become a very short bridge to a high QB draft pick, but his days as a starter are over. He’s not going to win you a playoff game, let alone a Championship.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:49 am
Bring back Brady!!! If that can’t happen then Mayfield would be a viable option. You have to have someone!! Another option might be Derek Carr!! Trask maybe in 2-3 years.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:50 am
Sounds good but will not matter if Bowels is allowed to continue blundering. He makes the game plans. His game plans are losers. He will ruin Mayfield and Monken too.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:51 am
Mayfield is a decent QB and definitely one of the top 10 presumably available guys.
Mayfield
Darnold
Garappolo
Daniel Jones
Geno Smith
Lamar Jackson
Jacoby Brissett
Cooper Rush
Minshew
Gabbert
then possible trade/cuts
Rodgers
Carr
All of these options are likely far better than Trask.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:51 am
Oh gawd no! He has regressed. Would rather gibwith a rookie. Build up the O-line.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:51 am
Whoever is qb, better shore up the offensive line!!!
January 19th, 2023 at 11:51 am
Stop, you’re just making things up right now.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:54 am
“Baker Mayfield, you look awful.” – Stephen A. Smith
Joe wants anyone in here because he’s afraid when Trask gets behind starters he’ll shine like do many 2nd, 3rd, and 4th string NFL quarterbacks did this season when they got their chance.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:56 am
Sheesh
January 19th, 2023 at 11:57 am
Toss Trask out there and see what you got on a rookie contract. If nothing, tank for draft pick and reset the cap. Just feel bad for Evans cause his career may not fit this reset.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:57 am
WE could do a lot worse than Baker Mayfield.
Plus, he is better than any QB we currently have.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:57 am
Bring in Monken, draft his QB from Georgia, Stetson Bennett in a later round….let Trask & Bennett compete for QB……forget Mayfield.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:58 am
Are you serious? No way and lets be honest the line has not been good. Only the RT play has been elite. Brady was the 2nd least sack QB in the last 3 years because the ball is coming out on his 3rd and 5th step or he just checks the ball down in the No risk it no biscuit offense which I don’t believe he could truly run and I don’t think he like it at all. That offense never used a TE or check the ball down and his first year in it look at the rate he was on for ints? He threw 3 pick 6s in the first 6 games. That was half of Jameis’s 6 pick 6s in 16 games. So as for QB I don’t wanna see Derek Carr or Jimmy G. They are the same to me. We have to move on from the out dated offensive schemes and get modern.
January 19th, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Get Aaron Rodgers. He’s a free agent right?
January 19th, 2023 at 12:01 pm
Mayfield gets worse the more he plays he would hit rock bottom here. Why did they pick Trask in the second round? If they are not going to use him then trade him. You don’t draft a QB that high to just to sit. If he sucks then release him.
January 19th, 2023 at 12:02 pm
Why would anybody want to come here as OC with Bowles as HC?
January 19th, 2023 at 12:02 pm
Gross. I hate that guy.
January 19th, 2023 at 12:03 pm
Brady needs to hurry up and make a decision whether he stays in Tampa or leaves. The longer he waits, the worse it makes for our team because the OC doesn’t know if he will have Tom Brady or not to turn this team around in one year.
January 19th, 2023 at 12:11 pm
Looking more and more like what I feared would happen. They have already thrown in the towel for 2023. They are going to go cheap this year to fix the cap, get a high draft pick, and then let Bowles go down with the ship.
It’s not even going to be a rebuilding year yet. That doesn’t start until 2024. 2023 is where we eat all the dead cap space we’ve mortgaged and become attractive to head coaching candidates. Next year we start with a clean slate.
January 19th, 2023 at 12:11 pm
Mayfield vs trask in Camp doesn’t sound too bad. I like the sound of that if brady departs.
January 19th, 2023 at 12:12 pm
This team had a successful identity when BA came here, and now one year removed doesnt even resemble the shell of that identity, and the answer is to let Bowles try again with a different OC? Not buying it. Bowles is 32-49 as a head coach, and he had a stacked roster with The Goat this season. Dont let this guy influence the development of this franchise.
January 19th, 2023 at 12:15 pm
In the words of the great Micheal Scott
NO GOD NO GOD PLEASE NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
January 19th, 2023 at 12:17 pm
If we were to sign Baker Mayfield, would he and his wife be living at Ray Jay?
January 19th, 2023 at 12:18 pm
I agree with the Joes about Baker. I still think the GLazers are in #Collaspe4Caleb mode already based off the stories I read on here today
January 19th, 2023 at 12:20 pm
That’s a funny watching Mayfield play in a conservative offense. That guy is a train wreck and once he gets the money he’ll be a train wreck in the locker room. If he played this season for the Bucs ot would be turn over city, possibly pass Jamais. Carr is so much better but neither can won.
Heard Payton was interviewing with Carolina, love to see the Payton, Brady combo there. That’s east coast.
January 19th, 2023 at 12:21 pm
No to Baker
Jimmy Garoppolo, Derek Carr are better options. I would be out for Todd Monken, his Georgia offense is fantastic and it’s not some college gimmick.
January 19th, 2023 at 12:35 pm
The Bucs won’t be getting any of the top OC candidates because Bowles will be in the hot seat. I have faith Bowles can coach us into a top 3 draft pick next season.
January 19th, 2023 at 12:48 pm
Fire the whole offensive staff tank for Caleb!!!!!!!-!
January 19th, 2023 at 12:49 pm
Nooooo. Rodgers, Carr, or Jackson. Mayfield would be a freak show.
January 19th, 2023 at 12:54 pm
Baker on a prove it deal is not a terrible idea, if the FO has no faith in Trask being a QB1 after 2yrs of development.
If they do grab Monken as OC & lure Baker to One Bucs Place…I could see Stetson Bennett taken by Tampa on Day3 to be a backup familiar with new system.
January 19th, 2023 at 12:55 pm
How about the Bucs quit hiring losers. Look up Mayfield’s record. Look up Bowles’s. Past performance is the best predictor of future performance. What are we doing here
January 19th, 2023 at 12:55 pm
Hire Monken, and get his GA QB with the last pick in the 7th round. Look how good Brock Purdy is doing with the right coaches.
January 19th, 2023 at 1:04 pm
Bucco Bruce Arians himself was also eager to coach Jameis Winston, so that in and of itself is no guarantee of success.
January 19th, 2023 at 1:24 pm
Baker Mayfield is listed at 5’11’ 190 pounds, which means he’s 5’10” in shoes. You gotta be kidding.
January 19th, 2023 at 1:40 pm
I’d sign him as a backup, he’s probably on-par with Blaine Gabbert.
January 19th, 2023 at 1:50 pm
Oh god please make it stop!
January 19th, 2023 at 2:40 pm
bring Mayfield in and draft a qb
cut him mid season after he overstays his welcome and let the rookie play — how about the kid from Georgia?
January 19th, 2023 at 2:40 pm
Hire Sean Payton, keep Brady. If not hire Carr. If not Mayfield. And then if not… well… Bowles will fix it.
January 19th, 2023 at 2:40 pm
Nebrady d rider shouldn’t you be finding a new spot to lick Brady’s bizzalls boy
January 19th, 2023 at 2:47 pm
His career is circling the drain, I wouldn’t put my hopes of retaining my job on his shoulders
January 19th, 2023 at 3:35 pm
Bring back Todd Monken!
January 19th, 2023 at 4:44 pm
Why would Monken come here with Bowles on the hot seat? Seems low upside high risk for him
January 19th, 2023 at 5:15 pm
Allbuccedup Says:
January 19th, 2023 at 12:48 pm
Fire the whole offensive staff tank for Caleb!!!!!!!-!
—-
Hard pass on a USC QB. We don’t need a dual-threat experiment. There’s enough evidence out there that its not a good move.
January 19th, 2023 at 5:29 pm
I mean, who comes up with this Sh*t? Todays journalism…. Get up in the morning wait in line at starbucks for a way over priced pos latte. While waiting in line think of some article to be written for the galactically stupid to consume. Throw a few names around to try to give it some credibility. This piece even tops the completely asinine articles on Tom Brady leaving and retiring from sources who admit to not talking to Brady about it and havent talked to Brady in a few weeks, but suspect he will do this or that!!!! Man that is awesome journalism 101, right out of the books of professional standards!!!!
January 19th, 2023 at 6:00 pm
Jets South in the works.
January 19th, 2023 at 7:01 pm
I think Gabbert and Trask deserve a chance to show what they have learned under Brady. Sometimes QBs develop late i.e. Brad Johnson Rich Gannon, Kurt Warner etc. Some take longer than others. Remember Gabbert was a first round pick so he must have talent. Regardless, why sign Mayfield when he isn’t a night and day upgrade over these two. Many other needs to focus on like resigning Dean.
January 19th, 2023 at 7:37 pm
Not a single team that won 8 or more games has fired it’s head coach. Not one! Bowles isn’t getting fired nor should he. What decent coach would take a job in an organization whose coach won it’s Division, made the playoffs and fired the coach? Moreover, the c of ach never had a chance to hire his own staff. That would be organizational malpractice. That would send a terrible message.
January 19th, 2023 at 7:57 pm
No to Baker Mayfield, he’s a fraud. Players don’t get behind his leadership (lack thereof). Go w/ Carr and Gabbert and let them compete. It’s a recovery year anyway (regardless of Todd saying reload; I mean, what’s he supposed to say).
January 19th, 2023 at 8:55 pm
Yes perfect fit
January 19th, 2023 at 9:55 pm
Joe says:
“First, please be clear. Joe wants Tom Brady to return for his fourth Tampa Bay season. He remains a valuable on-field commodity and with a new coordinator and a decent running game, Brady can still win a Super Bowl.”
Really, Joe(s)? I only think this is true if a team does the kind of true all-in for Brady that this season’s Bucs did not do at all, because they were incapable or did not want to.
A 46 yr old Brady needs an OC architect who can put together a deadly offensive system built specifically for Brady, an impenetrable, super powerful veteran O line, at least two elite running backs with power and speed, and WRs and TEs who have near telepathic chemistry with Brady, and on the other side, a defense that is top 5. In other words, the kind of red carpet that the Broncos gifted Peyton Manning as he wheezed his way into the sunset. Well, the Bucs have shown no interest in this, and cap-wise, the whole focus appears to be the opposite. Go cheap and young, and embrace the suck.
Brandon, where do you see Daniel Jones being available? He’s playing well right now and could take the Giants deeper in the playoffs. His job looks secure.
January 20th, 2023 at 10:03 am
we dont need either man
January 20th, 2023 at 2:24 pm
I think Baker would be a great fit in Tampa. He’s young enough to be the face of the franchise for years to come. If surrounded by the right weapons he could make Tampa a perennial playoff team. Let’s go get Baker. Also, fire Bowles. Go Bucs.
January 20th, 2023 at 10:46 pm
Doesn’t Monken make over $2m/yr at Ga? Why would he leave a sure thing to climb on the Bowles train wreck?
January 21st, 2023 at 12:16 pm
I agree with P of P why leave a 2mil job with back to back champions to come to this dumpster fire and sign a team friendly contract.